Tang Wulin: You're so dark-hearted, Old Tang, and you still say you're not an Evil Soul Master? [Combined Chapter]

Tang Wulin and Xie Xie saw the subtle tension between Gu Yue and Mu Xi, and their hearts leaped straight into their throats.

The pressure was off the charts. This was even more thrilling than fighting Class Four just now!

Gu Yue made the first move.

She stepped forward and stood in front of Mu Xi, her delicate chin tilted slightly upward. Her gaze was cool and sharp, and though her voice was quiet, her emphasis left no room for argument.

"I got here first."

Mu Xi didn't even look at Gu Yue, as though she were nothing but a puff of air.

The beloved daughter of the Forging Association's president looked right past Gu Yue and fixed her gaze on Yao Chuan, who was lounging behind her.

Her eyes instantly welled with tears, a mix of grievance, hurt, and a trace of anger at being stood up. She looked as though she might burst into tears at any moment.

Parting her lips, she said plaintively:

"So... I came at the wrong time?"

The chill in her voice was even colder than Gu Yue's ice element.

The atmosphere froze solid.

Xie Xie secretly swallowed, feeling as though he'd stumbled into a full-scale battlefield of romantic rivalry.

Tang Wulin beside him didn't dare breathe either. His gaze flicked back and forth between the three big shots.

Faced with a situation that could leave any hopelessly blunt guy frozen on the spot, Yao Chuan merely flashed his trademark sunny smile, the kind that could melt snow.

He didn't panic. Instead, he waved Mu Xi over as naturally as if he were greeting an old friend.

He even patted the empty seat beside him.

"Hey, what are you talking about? You came at just the right time! It's no big deal to add another pair of chopsticks. Come on, come sit down and talk."

Yao Chuan's tone was as casual as if he were chatting about the weather.

Then he deliberately turned his head to look at Gu Yue, who was blocking his way, and smiled as he asked her,

"Classmate Gu Yue, don't you agree? Mu Xi's not an outsider."

That move left Tang Wulin and Xie Xie completely dumbfounded.

Boss, are you really not afraid of dying? You're adding fuel to the fire like a master!

Gu Yue felt a nameless flame flare up inside her. She wanted nothing more than to smack Yao Chuan in the face with a full-on elemental attack!

She clenched her teeth so hard that a faint grinding sound came from her throat.

The refusal was already on the tip of her tongue.

"I..."

But when she looked up and met Yao Chuan's deep, smiling eyes, which seemed to brim with starlight, all her anger and refusal burst like a punctured balloon, deflating by more than half.

That smile was far too deceptive, far too dazzling. It made it hard for her to say no to that face.

How infuriating! So infuriating!

Gu Yue's fists tightened and loosened at her sides, again and again. In the end, she practically ground the word out through clenched teeth:

"...Fine."

Her voice was muffled, and she sounded profoundly unwilling.

At this barely-there agreement, Mu Xi acted as if she'd won a battle!

Her pitiful expression vanished in an instant. She straightened her slim waist and lifted her chin, like a little rooster that had just won a fight.

She shot Gu Yue a smug, challenging glance, then sat down with impeccable poise in the seat Yao Chuan had indicated.

As though the person who'd looked ready to burst into tears a moment ago had never been her.

Tang Wulin and Xie Xie were left marveling at her lightning-fast change of expression.

Yao Chuan watched the two of them settle in. His smile deepened as he noticed Gu Yue's strained, aggrieved expression, and a glint of satisfaction flashed through his eyes.

Of course, he wasn't doing this just to make Gu Yue uncomfortable for fun.

His real intention was to give the future Silver Dragon King a special kind of training—high-pressure psychological adaptation training.

In short, stress training.

Yao Chuan knew exactly what he was doing.

He could see Gu Yue's little feelings for him perfectly clearly these days.

She was jealous enough to have "I care about you" carved across her forehead.

And her earlier irritation toward Musi had made it even more obvious.

But that still wasn't enough.

The road ahead was far more complicated than this.

Yao Chuan's gaze seemed to pierce through time and space, reaching into the distant future.

He thought of Na'er.

He thought of the moment in the future when Gu Yue and Na'er—two beings who were one, seemingly separate but sharing the same origin—would eventually become one again.

When that time came, their shared emotions, memories, and souls would intertwine.

Gu Yue's current jealousy and awkwardness around Mu Xi might seem incredibly simple, even insignificant, beside Na'er's purer, longer-lasting affection—a closeness and dependence that carried a hint of a fledgling's attachment.

Na'er's feelings for Yao Chuan had taken root when he saved her in her most helpless moment, took her in, and stayed by her side day after day. Their weight was something even Gu Yue herself might not fully anticipate.

For Gu Yue, the fusion of their souls in the future would be more than a simple increase in power. It would be a tremendous shock and reshaping of her emotional understanding.

She had to get used to sharing, to coexisting, to the complicated reality of "your feelings becoming my feelings."

Otherwise, when that day truly arrived, the overwhelming emotional impact and confusion could become her most fatal weakness. They might even crush her in an instant, destabilizing the Silver Dragon King and hampering her ability to wield her power.

What Yao Chuan was doing now was breaking the emotional storm she might face in the future into a series of little waves, letting them wash against the shores of Gu Yue's consciousness ahead of time.

He wanted her to get used to the reality that she wasn't the only one by Yao Chuan's side.

He wanted her to learn how to control her emotions when jealousy welled up.

He wanted her to find the balance and resilience she'd need amid her awkwardness and resentment.

Today, accepting Mu Xi sitting at the same table was just a little wave.

It would help her get used to sharing.

It would teach her that a true powerhouse had to master not only the elements, but also the turbulent currents of emotion within herself.

That was far more important than defeating a two-ring Guang Long.

It was preparation for the "world war" that would one day erupt in the depths of her soul.

Gu Yue had no idea what kind of elaborate schemes that old fox Yao Chuan was cooking up in his head.

She just thought his move was so shameless it was almost impressive!

He'd been the one to call Mu Xi over (though Gu Yue didn't know exactly what he'd said, Mu Xi's reaction made it obvious she'd been invited). But once Mu Xi arrived, he acted like, "Oh, you're here? Then why don't you join us?" as if he were being magnanimous?

He got to play the good guy, while Gu Yue took all the blame?

Who wouldn't feel aggrieved by that?

This time, Yao Chuan was soaring above the clouds, while Gu Yue was buried in the basement!

Gu Yue sat down heavily across from Yao Chuan and Mu Xi, at an angle to Mu Xi.

She tried to calm the anger and bitterness roiling in her chest, telling herself over and over: Stay calm, Gu Yue. You have to stay calm! You're someone destined for great things. You can't let petty emotions control you! Don't fall for his trick!

She took a deep breath and tried to make her expression look unruffled.

Then, under the stunned gazes of Tang Wulin and Xie Xie, she did something no one could have expected.

Gu Yue flicked her wrist and pulled out her small Soul Guidance Communicator.

She aimed the camera at the steaming Earthen Pot Beef in front of her, fragrant and glistening.

"Click!"

The crisp sound of the shutter rang out.

Then her pale fingers flew across the communicator's screen.

Select photo. Send!

Recipient: Na'er, at the distant Spirit Pagoda Headquarters!

Gu Yue looked at the words "Sent successfully" on the screen, and the corner of her mouth finally curled into the faintest, slightly smug smile.

Hmph!

That bastard Yao Chuan thought he could laugh at her?

He thought he could use Mu Xi to rub salt in her wounds and mess with her head under the pretext of stress training?

Not a chance!

Gu Yue wasn't a pushover!

Did he want her to experience "sharing" and "jealousy"?

Fine!

Then she'd share this "stimulation" with someone else, too!

The more, the merrier!

Yao Chuan wanted Gu Yue to suffer alone?

No way!

She'd drag Na'er into this, too!

Let her see who her beloved Yao Chuan-gege was sitting with right now, eating delicious beef!

And Gu Yue was there too, so all three of them were sitting at the same table!

The photo was taken at a clever angle, with a skillful composition. It perfectly captured the food on the table, Yao Chuan across from her (though only his profile made it into the shot), and that eyesore Mu Xi beside him (though only her shoulder was visible).

Gu Yue's little scheme went off in her head like firecrackers:

'That girl Na'er is so simple-hearted and sensitive. When she sees this photo... Tsk, tsk. Won't that jealousy jar of hers be knocked over and spill for eight hundred miles?'

'Let her sit around at the Spirit Pagoda and stew in her thoughts! It's not like she can come over right now!'

'This time, I'm soaring above the clouds! I didn't just counter Yao Chuan's move—I even passed the jealousy on to Na'er! Perfect!'

At the thought of Na'er stomping around the Spirit Pagoda over this photo, most of Gu Yue's resentment at Yao Chuan and Mu Xi ganging up on her vanished.

She even felt a secret thrill of, "I may be unhappy, but you, Na'er, have it worse."

Gu Yue had unlocked the power of self-comforting victory!

She put away her communicator. The icy look that had been between her brows melted away completely, and the faint smile at the corner of her mouth became a little more genuine.

She even picked up her chopsticks and neatly lifted a piece of beef, tender and richly flavored from stewing, into her mouth.

Mm, it really did taste good.

Now that she felt better, even the beef tasted a little more delicious.

Watching Gu Yue's transformation, which was practically instantaneous, and her suddenly relaxed, even slightly smug expression, Yao Chuan's deep eyes flashed with a quick glint of understanding.

This little girl... had some tricks of her own.

She'd found a way to strike back that quickly?

And she'd dragged Na'er into it, too?

Her ability to adjust her mindset and redirect the conflict was even better than he'd expected.

Looks like she had plenty of potential for stress training.

Very good. Very good.

Yao Chuan's estimation of Gu Yue quietly rose a notch.

He kept his flawless, radiant smile, pretending he hadn't noticed Gu Yue's little maneuver.

"Come on, don't just sit there. Eat while it's hot! This Earthen Pot Beef won't taste nearly as good once it cools down!"

He urged them on warmly, as though the silent clash from moments ago had never happened.

One wore a smile as bright as the sun (Yao Chuan).

One looked as smug as a cat that had stolen a fish (Gu Yue).

And one sat with elegant poise, still a little awkward but clearly in much better spirits (Mu Xi).

Tang Wulin and Xie Xie looked at each other, bewildered.

A moment ago, they'd been on the verge of a fight, with cold air radiating everywhere. How had things turned... so harmonious in the blink of an eye?

This was rarer than running into a Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast in a Soul Beast forest.

Tang Wulin and Xie Xie sat to one side, their eyes nearly popping out of their heads.

Tang Wulin was so envious he nearly drooled.

A big shot was a big shot. He could sit rock-steady in the middle of a romantic battlefield, smiling as if nothing were wrong.

He sighed to himself. He probably wouldn't reach that level even if he trained all the way to Titled Douluo.

Just then, the voice that called itself "Old Tang" surfaced again deep in his mind, brimming with provocation.

"Kid, jealous?"

"Look at how he's being treated. He's got beauty on both arms."

"Now look at you, sitting here as some random side character."

"Is that fair? It's not!"

"Wouldn't it be great to have beauties like Gu Yue and Mu Xi surrounding you?"

"Jealous? Angry? Hate him?"

"That's right! Turn that feeling into motivation and get stronger with everything you've got!"

"Outshine that brat! Show him why the flowers are red!"

Old Tang grew more and more excited, as if he'd been pumped full of adrenaline.

His plan was clear.

He wanted to stir up Tang Wulin's resentment and jealousy, driving him to cultivate like mad and climb higher.

And, while he was at it, he wanted to quietly dig a pit and drive a wedge between Tang Wulin and Yao Chuan.

Unfortunately, Old Tang's scheme was ticking along beautifully, but he'd overlooked one fatal detail.

Tang Ziran and Lang Yue, his adoptive parents, had raised Tang Wulin to be far too damn upright and kind.

His personality was as sunny as the midday sun. He'd inherited none of Old Tang's dark-heartedness or jealousy.

Tang Wulin's admiration for Yao Chuan was pure "wow, he's amazing" awe, without a hint of sour-grapes jealousy.

After hearing Old Tang's provocative remarks, Tang Wulin's brows twisted into a knot.

A nameless fury flared up inside him.

In the sea of consciousness, Tang Wulin questioned Old Tang in an utterly serious tone:

"Old Tang!"

"I've realized you're a really dark-minded person!"

"And you're seriously creepy!"

"That big shot attracts girls with his charm. What's it to you?"

"Why can't you stand seeing other people do well?"

"Why do you keep saying people deserve to die?"

The more Tang Wulin thought about it, the more wrong it felt. A chill crawled over him.

Could a normal person—even a soul spirit—really be this dark-minded and jealous?

The seed of suspicion in his heart grew wildly, almost ready to break through the soil.

"Damn! Old Tang, don't tell me you really are an Evil Soul Master?"

"What respectable Soul Master spends all day thinking about how to make other people die?"

"And over something like this, no less!"

The more Tang Wulin thought about it, the angrier he got. Just being in the same sea of consciousness as Old Tang made his skin crawl.

He turned to leave, unwilling to speak to this "dark soul" any longer.

Old Tang was dumbfounded in the sea of consciousness.

This wasn't how the script was supposed to go!

Why wasn't this kid playing along?

He hurried to salvage the situation, his tone turning ingratiating:

"Hey, hey, hey! Wulin, wait!"

"You've got it wrong!"

"I'm only doing this for your sake!"

"I'm really on your side!"

"Just think about it. You're the chosen one, destined to shake the world in the future..."

Tang Wulin stopped in his tracks and snorted.

He seized on the flaw in Old Tang's logic and fired back without missing a beat.